In recent years, poker has become very popular. One of the most common variations of poker is Five Card Draw. In general, in Five Card Draw poker the player gets five cards dealt face-up from a 52 card deck of playing cards. The player can discard none, one, a plurality or all of the five cards. Each discarded card is replaced with another card from the deck. After the replacement, the cards are evaluated for winning combinations. For a five card poker game, there are ten general categories of hands, ranked from highest to lowest, as shown in Table 1 below.
TABLE 1Ranking of Five Card Poker Hands by CategoryRankNameExample1Royal FlushA   K   Q   J   10  2Straight FlushK   Q   J   10   9  3Four of a KindJ   J♥ J♦ J   3  4Full HouseA♥ A♦ A   6♦ 6  5FlushA   J   8   6   2  6Straight8♦ 7   6   5   4  7Three of a KindQ   Q♥ Q♦ 6♦ 2  8Two Pair8♦ 8♥ 5♥ 5   2  9One PairK♦ K    8   7   2♥10No PairA♥ 10   7♦ 5   3  
Within each category, hands are ranked according to the rank of individual cards, with an Ace being the highest card and a two being the lowest card. There is no difference in rank between the four suits of cards. All hands can be ranked in a linear ranking from highest to lowest. Because suits are all of the same value, however, there are multiple hands that have identical rankings. For example, there are four equivalent hands for each type of straight flush, four of a kind, or flush. There are over a hundred equivalent hands for each two pair variation, and there are over 1,000 equivalent hands for each type of no-pair hand.
Numerous variations of poker exist, including Five Card Draw as mentioned above, Three Card Poker, Five Card Stud, Seven Card Stud, Hold'em (also called Texas Hold'em), Omaha (also called Omaha Hold'em), and Pai-Gow Poker. The variations in these games generally differ in the manner in which cards are dealt and in the manner and frequency in which bets are placed. Various criteria may also be used to determine the winning hand, including highest ranking hand, lowest ranking hand (Low-Ball), and where the high and low hands each win half of the pot (High-Low).
In certain known multiplayer variations of poker, the players play against each other rather than against a dealer or house. In certain of these variations, a round of play begins when each player has placed an initial bet, called the ante, into the pot. The term pot refers to the total accumulation of antes and wagers made during a particular game. However, in other poker variations, such as Texas Hold'em described in further detail below, only two players at a table make the initial bets, commonly referred to as the blinds.
The number of cards dealt depends on the particular variation of poker being played. For example, in Five Card Draw, each player is initially dealt five cards. In typical Three Card Poker games where the player plays against a dealer hand, the player is dealt a total of three cards and the dealer hand includes a total of three cards as well. In certain known Three Card Poker games, the initially dealt player hand and dealer hand are final and there is no option to replace or draw any new cards. In Texas Hold'em, Five Card Stud and Seven Card Stud, each player is initially dealt two-cards. These cards are typically dealt face-down. However, depending on the game, some of the cards may be dealt face-up to the player. For example, in Five Card Stud, each player is initially dealt one card face-up and one card face-down. In Texas Hold'em, each player is initially dealt two-cards face-down which are commonly referred to as the hole cards.
For certain poker variations where additional cards are dealt or where cards may be replaced, after the initial deal, a first round of wagering begins, where the players have the opportunity to place wagers. If a player places a wager, that wager must be matched (i.e., called) or raised by each player that wants to remain in the game. A raise includes matching the previous wager and increasing the total bet. A player who does not match a bet drops out of the game or folds. A round of betting ends when either every player but one has folded, or when the highest bet or raise has been called by each remaining player such that each remaining player has wagered the same amount into the pot during the round.
In other known multiplayer variations of poker, the players play against a dealer or a casino rather than against each other. Some of these variations include Caribbean Stud Poker and Three Card Poker. In one variation of Caribbean Stud Poker the player places an ante wager the dealer deals a five card player hand and a five card dealer hand. One of the cards in the dealer hand is revealed to the player. After this card is revealed and the player has viewed his/her cards, the player must either make a call bet by increasing the player's stake by an amount equal to twice the original ante, or folding, in which case the player forfeits the ante. All of the cards in the dealer hand are revealed and if the dealer hand does not have and A-K or higher, the player's call bet is returned, plus an amount equal to the original ante. If the dealer hand is a A-K or better, and the player hand has a higher rank than the dealer hand, the dealer pays out even money on the ante and fixed odds on the call bet according to a pay table. This is an example of a variation of a poker game played against the casino where, in order to continue the game, the player must increase the original wager. That is, the player must either fold a smaller initial wager or increase their stake in the game. Other player versus casino poker games have features that do not allow additional wagering after the initial wager, and other game variations include one or more optionally wagering opportunities.
Of the poker variations mentioned above, Texas Hold'em is one of the more popular versions. Texas Hold'em is generally a multi-player card game played at a live card table or via a computer-based virtual card table. In one version of a live card table game of Texas Hold'em, only two players at a table make the initial bets, commonly referred to as the blinds. These blinds include a large blind and a small blind, where the large blind is typically twice the value of the small blind. In a blind based game such as Texas Hold'em, all players are initially eligible to receive a hand, even if they did not place the large blind or the small blind. After the players have anted, each player eligible for play is dealt an initial set of cards. Each of the players must match the blinds, raise the blinds or fold. Texas Hold'em includes a designated number of community cards (i.e., usually five) that can be used by all of the players in combination with their hole cards. However, in certain variations, there may only be three community cards. In certain Texas Hold'em games, the community cards are dealt over the course of several wagering rounds. For example, the gaming device or dealer deals the flop (i.e., usually three cards), the turn (usually one card), and the river (usually one card). The winning hand is the resulting five card hand (of the combined seven cards) having the highest poker rank. This method of determining a winning five card hand is similar to determining a winning hand in Seven Card Stud. However, Seven Card Stud does not utilize community cards as in Texas Hold'em. In other variations of Texas Hold'em, where the number of community cards is only three, the flop is a single card rather than three cards.
Texas Hold'em generally requires two or more players. Certain computer-based versions of the game implement virtual players that use computer heuristics to attempt to allow the virtual players to behave like actual human players.
Certain gaming establishments have an interest in being able to leverage the interest in Texas Hold'em by offering variations of the game that can be played against the house or casino rather than against other players. This may appeal to players who are waiting to get a seat at a standard table, to those who do not believe they have the skill or bankroll to participate in a standard game, or to those players simply looking for an interesting new casino game.
Existing player versus casino games based on Texas Hold'em generally fall into a few different categories. One type of game has the player attempting to achieve a certain hand outcome relative to a pay table, with assorted betting options and/or requirements along the way. Another type of Texas Hold'em game is based on the outcome of the player's hand relative to that of the dealer's hand, with assorted betting options and/or requirements along the way. Some games offer both type of mechanisms, with the main game based on latter category and an optional side bet based on the former category.
However, Texas Hold'em is generally considered to be a game of skill, where skilled players tend to have a statistical and strategic advantage over lesser skilled players. For example, a skilled player is often able to discern visual clues or tells from their opponents that give them certain information about their opponents' hands. A skilled player may be able to calculate the odds of winning a particular hand or the odds of receiving one or more cards that would be required to win. If the skilled player can do both, they have a distinct advantage over a non-skilled player or a player with lesser skills. Accordingly, certain non-skilled players do not enjoy or may be reluctant to play Texas Hold'em against opponents who are highly skilled. Additionally, certain skilled players may seek out a game of poker with non-skilled players to gain an advantage.
A need therefore exists for new and exciting poker games, including a need for new Texas Hold'em poker games where player can play against a casino dealer or against a gaming machine.